Skip To Main Content

Milwaukee Athletics

Skip Ad
WBB Preview Nov. 16-18

Women's Basketball Meets Trio of First-Time Opponents in Louisiana

November 15, 2023

MILWAUKEE – With two games in the book, Milwaukee women's basketball heads to Louisiana to take part in the McNeese Multi-Team Event hosted by McNeese in Lake Charles, Louisiana at the Legacy Center. The Panthers will take on a trio of new opponents beginning with Louisiana Monroe on Thursday, host McNeese on Friday, and Mississippi Valley State on Saturday afternoon before returning to Milwaukee.

All three games will be available on the and Black & Gold Network, as Matt Menzl returns for his eighth season with the program, live stats will also be available at the links on MKEPanthers.com.

THE MATCHUP
Thursday, November 15 – Milwaukee vs. Louisiana Monroe | Legacy Center | Lake Charles, La. | 4:00 pm
Friday, November 16 – Milwaukee at McNeese State | Legacy Center | Lake Charles, La. | 7:00 pm
Saturday, November 17 – Milwaukee vs. Mississippi Valley State | Legacy Center | Lake Charles, La. | 1:00 pm
 
QUICK LINKS
Live Stats: mkepanthers.com/coverage
Black & Gold Network: mkepanthers.com/coverage
Follow Along (On X): @MKE_WBB
Tickets: McNeese Tickets

SCOUTING THE WARHAWKS
Opening the year at 1-1, Louisiana Monroe heads into the first day of the McNeese Multi-Team Event against the Panthers. The Warhawks opened the year with a loss to Arkansas, while the team won its annual MAC-Sun Belt Challenge matchup, this year pitted against Miami (Ohio). In the 78-62 win over Miami (Ohio), the team was led by Daisha Bradford with a team-best 30 points.

Bradford is only second on the team in scoring, however, averaging 22.0 points per game over the first two. Leading the way is Jakayla Johnson with an average of 24.5 points per game as the pair have combined to shoot 36-for-68 from the field. Both add the threat of three-point shots with a combined 13 between the two. Bradford is also the team's leading rebounder with 7.5 per game and has a team-high 13 assists.

As a team, ULM is averaging 77 points per game, and shoot 40.7 percent from the field, including a 36.7 percent clip from three. The Warhawks do not get to the line frequently with just 26 trips in comparison to 60 trips to the line for the Warhawk opponents.

SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS
Host McNeese enters its home event with a split record through its first two contests with a win against Dillard in the opener and a loss to Prairie View. The team will take on Mississippi Valley State on Thursday before taking on the Panthers on Friday. The team knocked off Dillard by a 76-47 score before falling to Prairie View, 70-85.

It's been a trio of scorers leading the way for McNeese with Mireia Yespes leading the way averaging 14 points and 7.5 rebounds per game through the first two for the Cowgirls. Yespes is third on the team in minutes played and has capitalized on her time on the court with her numbers, while Azjah Reeves leads McNeese with 32 minutes per game and is second on the team in scoring at 12.5 ppg, Reeves and Cristina Gil are the two biggest threats from beyond the arc as Gil currently has four three-pointers in seven attempts for a .471 percentage from three. Gil along with Ana Cabanas Llorens have six assists apiece from the backcourt.

McNeese has averaged 73 points through the opening two games of the season, nearly eight full points better than last season, when they averaged 65.5 points per contest. Getting the Cowgirls to the line could be key for matchups against McNeese this season, as the team has only converted on 58.5 percent from the line.

SCOUTING THE DEVILETTES
After starting the year with a pair of one-sided losses to No. 7 Utah, and the defending national champion and at the time No. 1 LSU, the Devilettes of Mississippi Valley will face host McNeese on Thursday before taking on Louisiana Monroe on Friday, followed by the matchup with the Panthers on Saturday afternoon. Mississippi Valley is currently last in the nation scoring margin, falling in their two decisions by an average of 60.5 points.

Sh'Diamond McKnight leads the team with an average of 13 points per game, while connecting on 10-of-25 from the field in their first two games. Jaylia Reed leads the team and the SWAC conference averaging 37 minutes per game, as she has tallied 7.5 points per game and a team-best 3.5 rebounds per contest.

Mississippi Valley State does a good job of getting in the way of passes, as the team averages 10 steals a game.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first-ever meeting for the Panthers with Louisiana Monroe, McNeese, and Mississippi Valley.

THREE'S COMPANY
For the 40th time under the 12th-year head coach Kyle Rechlicz, the Panthers connected on 11 three-point baskets during the team's home opener against UIC. Milwaukee went 11-for-21 on Sunday afternoon including a team-best six by Kamy Peppler, who finished the game going 6-for-9. Angie Cera and Kendall Nead each had two while Anna Lutz had one on the afternoon.

Over the past four seasons dating back to 2019-20, the Panthers have reached 11 three-point field goals on 10 occasions including 14 on the road at Youngstown State in February 23. Milwaukee has 14 total double-figure three-point performances since the start of the 2019-20 season.

SOPHOMORE SLUMP? NOT QUITE
On November 12 against UIC, Kamy Peppler had a trio of career bests with 25 points, nine field goals made, and six three-point field goals made. Peppler also tied her career-high with four steals in the season opener at Wisconsin on November 7.

NEAD'S SEASON-OPENING MARK
With 18 points in the team's season opener at Wisconsin, Milwaukee's junior guard scored the most points for a Panther in a season opener since Jamie Reit scored 31 points in the team's overtime win over Parkside to begin the 2019-20 season. A year prior, Reit connected on 21 points in the team's two-point loss to Indiana for the last time a Panther had at least 18 points in a regulation season opener.

CROWLEY'S JUNIOR YEAR RECORD
Last season, then-junior Grace Crowley connected on 57.4 percent from the field. With that mark, Crowley set a new program record for shooting percentage as a junior in Milwaukee history. The previous mark was held by Bud K. Haidet Hall of Famer, Maria Viall, who recorded a 57.3 field goal percent as a junior.

THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
The college basketball world welcomed a newcomer to the 1,000-point club on November 7, as junior Vanessa Jurewicz scored her 1,000th career point against the Badgers with 1:41 left in the game. Jurewicz entered her Milwaukee career with 998 career points, with 79 points at her first college at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in 2020-21, before adding 919 over the past two seasons at McCook Community College in Nebraska. Jurewicz became the first player to score their 1,000th career point in a Panther uniform since Megan Walstad accomplished the feat on February 12, 2022.

WELCOME BACK CREW
Milwaukee welcomes back 10 players that were on last year's roster, including nine that saw minutes. Leading the way back in terms of minutes played is Kendall Nead with 866 as the junior is also the team's leading returner in scoring 334 pts/11.1 ppg.

Angie Cera averaged 28 minutes per game a year ago while averaging 8.3 points per game, with Kamy Peppler seeing action in all 30 of the team's games and averaged just over 23 minutes per contest. Jada Donaldson was a starter in 22 of 29 games and averaged 25.7 minutes per game.

Grace Crowley played in 498 minutes in 2022-23, while Anna Lutz saw time in 28 games for 332 minutes as the duo will likely see an increase this year with Milwaukee graduating both Megan Walstad and Emma Wittmershaus.

Hallie Majoros, Lior Halevi, Justina Hernandez, and Kalvina Eubanks all saw time a year ago, while Jada Williams sat out the season, and looks to make an impact during her first season on the court with the team.

NEW FACES IN MILWAUKEE
This offseason, the Panthers welcomed five newcomers to the roster for the 2023-24 season. Vanessa Jurewicz transferred to Milwaukee following a two-year stay at McCook Community College in Nebraska, where she was a two-year starter.

Four true freshmen join the Panther program this season: Jorey Buwalda, Izzy Pugh, Sophia Rampulla, and Payton Rechlicz.

Buwalda joins the Badgers from a 20-win Randolph squad from a season ago, after winning a Wisconsin State Title as a junior in 2021-22. She was a three-time All-State honoree during her high school career.

Pugh hails from Auckland, New Zealand, and was a four-year member of the Westlake Girls High School Team, while she was also named to the New Zealand U-18 reserve team. She was a part of the Westlake's national championship team in 2022.

Rampulla was a part of four conference championship teams at Union Grove High School and helped the team to regional championship as both a junior and senior. She was also a Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Ms. Basketball finalist as a senior.

Rechlicz played four seasons of basketball at Menomonee Falls, where she was a two-time All-Conference Selection in the competitive Greater Metro Conference. During her appearances in the WIAA Postseason, she led the team in scoring in each of her appearances.

AND YOU ARE…?
Milwaukee's non-conference slate will feature 11 total contests including five at home, as well as six first-time opponents.

Milwaukee will play three new faces at the McNeese Tournament, including Louisiana Monroe (Nov. 16), host McNeese (Nov. 17), and Mississippi Valley State (Nov. 18). The team will also take on Edgewood at home on November 21.

In December, the Panthers will welcome two new opponents to the Klotsche Center as St. Thomas (Minn.) pays a visit on December 7, while Viterbo will close out non-conference play on December 20.

SPANNING THE REGION…AND THE GLOBE
This season Milwaukee has eight student-athletes from the state of Wisconsin, while the team has two players from both Illinois and Iowa, with one student-athlete hailing from Ohio.

In addition to the 13 Panthers from the United States, Milwaukee will be represented by three international students as returner Lior Halevi (Israel) is joined by Vanessa Jurewicz (Sweden), and Izzy Pugh (New Zealand).

This will be the first time in Milwaukee Division I history, that the Panthers have more than one international student-athletes on its roster for any season.

PRESEASON POLL
Milwaukee was selected to finish sixth in the 2023-24 preseason poll as announced by the Horizon League in mid-October. The Panthers received 59 points and were just four points out of the top-five.

In addition to the team being selected in sixth, Kendall Nead was named to the Preseason All-League Second Team. Nead finished last year as Milwaukee's returning scorer as she averaged 11.1 points per game with a team-best 334 points in 2022-23. Nead also connected on 41.4 percent from the floor, while adding 26 three-pointers of her team-best 138 field goals made.

Nead added 133 rebounds, 46 assists, 17 steals, and seven blocks as she was one of just two Panthers to start in all 30 games of the season for MKE.

OFFENSIVE BOARDS TURNING INTO POINTS
The Panthers recorded double-digit offensive rebounds in nine of their last 18 contests in 2022-23 and made the most of their chances. In that span during 2022-23 Milwaukee totaled 161 second-chance points.

The Panthers got off to a start just as well in the team's opener against Wisconsin with 14 offensive rebounds, which resulted in eight second-chance points against the Badgers. In Sunday's home opener against UIC, Milwaukee had another 10 offensive boards, which resulted in 11 second-chance points.

MAGIC NUMBER
In college basketball, there is no perfect recipe for a win but for Milwaukee, field goal percentage has been a pretty good baseline.

In the last eight seasons, Milwaukee is 93-32 (.744) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 81-17 (.827).

When shooting under 40 percent since 2016-17, Milwaukee is just 25-69 (.266). The Panthers are 0-1 in contests this season, when shooting under 40 percent.

KEEPING THE FOULS DOWN
Over the past two seasons, when Milwaukee has committed 11 fouls or fewer, the Panthers are 5-1. On the contrary, the Panthers are 2-11 when they have committed 18 or more fouls in a contest.

ALL-FRESHMAN HONORS
Last season, Kamy Peppler put together a season that warranted All-Freshman Team accolades by the Horizon League last season.

Peppler's freshman campaign saw her play in all 30 of the team's games and connect on 32.5 percent from the field including 25.6 percent from three. She had connected on 64 field goals with 30 of those coming from beyond the arc. She had the third-most assists for a rookie with 100 and was just 25 shy of tying the Milwaukee freshman record.

WHAT'S ON TAP?
Milwaukee returns to Wisconsin following the excursion to Louisiana with three-straight at home beginning with Edgewood, Central Michigan, and opening league play with Green Bay to close out the month of November. The matchup with Edgewood takes place on Tuesday, November 21 at 7:00 p.m. from the Klotsche Center.

CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Matt Menzl returns for his eighth year as the play-by-play voice of the Panthers on the Black and Gold Network. Links for audio along with any TV coverage can be found on MKEPanthers.com. The Milwaukee women's basketball X account (@MKE_WBB) will also have live updates throughout the game.

Thanks to ESPN+, Milwaukee basketball fans will have the opportunity to watch the Panthers all season long. All of Milwaukee's home games will be carried live online at ESPN+. The Horizon League and ESPN have an agreement that includes ESPN hosting the league's digital network on the ESPN+ platform.

ESPN+ offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content, and original programming not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $9.99 a month (or $99.99 per year) and cancel at any time.
Print Friendly Version